Benzyl Alcohol → Diphenylmethane

Participants

Reaction Steps

Benzylation of some aromatics with benzyl alcohol in the presence of askanite is known from J. General Chemistry of the USSR (English translation of Z. obsz. Zhim.) 20 (1950), 2249 (page 2168 in the original). This procedure is carried out at 90° C. and at 10% by weight of askanite, relative to the benzyl alcohol. If 200 g of benzyl alcohol and 200 g of benzene (molar ratio 1:1.38) are used, about 16% of diphenylmethane and 4.6% of dibenzyl-benzene, all relative to benzyl alcohol, are obtained; the non-distillable residue is larger than the total amount of diphenylmethane and dibenzyl-benzene. In the benzylation of toluene under the same conditions 10.8% of dibenzyl-toluene, both relative to benzyl alcohol, are obtained.

Provenance & Evidence